The Riff: How to Avoid the Day-Old Gag

By
Michael Cavna

Comedy is all in the timing, the saying goes. The aphorism is usually understood to refer to tempo and pacing.

Comedy, though, can also be in the timing of the cultural cycle. A word or phrase that plays for maximum zeitgeist pop one month, of course, won't pack the same fresh punch down the line. (You want an example? Well, sure, "you betcha.")

'Riffs brings this up because humorous references to "Applebee's" seem to be in the air these days. Applebee's has surfaced before as punch-line fodder, but the name seems to have cycled back for another 15 minutes of comic fame. To wit: Today's "Brewster Rockit."

These trends pass so quickly, however, that we offer this handy-dandy guide to Comic References for Maximum Resonance With the Zeitgeist. (Note: We do not guarantee that this list will still be fresh by Thursday.)